The symptom pattern

You wind the tailstock up to support a spindle and it creeps back along the bed as soon as the tool touches the wood, or you go to lock the tailstock or the tool rest holder in place and it just won’t bite — the lever tightens but the thing still slides. Both are the same underlying mechanism behaving badly, and Record Power’s own manual, which covers both the Coronet Envoy and the larger Coronet Regent, gives a specific cause list for each.

What Record Power’s own manual says

For a tailstock that moves once pressure is on it, the manual names three causes in order: too much force being wound into the tailstock against the workpiece, the locking lever not actually secured, or dirt on the mating surfaces between the tailstock and the bed stopping the clamp from gripping. All three are free checks — adjust how hard you’re winding the handwheel, confirm the lever is tight, and clean the bed and the tailstock’s underside if they’re dusty with shavings.

If the tailstock — or the tool rest holder, which shares the same clamp design — won’t lock in place at all, Record Power gives a single cause: the clamp itself is set incorrectly, and a specific adjustment fixes it. The manual’s maintenance chapter explains the mechanism: underneath the tool rest holder or tailstock is a bolt with a nylon locking nut that sets how hard the clamp bites the bed. Turning that nut clockwise with a 16mm wrench increases the clamping action; turning it anti-clockwise reduces it. The manual also notes that stiffness in the clamp can separately be caused by timber residue or other debris on the bed, which is worth ruling out before touching the nut at all.

Working through it

For a tailstock that creeps under load, start with technique rather than the machine: use only as much force as it takes to hold the workpiece between centres, not the full travel of the handwheel. Then check the locking lever is actually engaged, and clean the bed and tailstock contact surfaces if there’s any sawdust or shavings built up. If the tailstock or tool rest holder won’t lock at all regardless of the lever, that’s the clamp adjustment: slide the item off the bed, find the nylon locking nut on its underside, and adjust it with a 16mm wrench until the clamping action holds properly when refitted.

Verdict

Nothing here is a developing fault or a part wearing out — Record Power’s own manual treats both versions of this as a setup and adjustment issue, with a specific procedure for the one case that needs more than technique. Work through force, the locking lever and cleanliness first, then the clamp’s nylon locking nut if the holder still won’t bite. No tools beyond a 16mm wrench, and nothing to buy.